Manicuring device



Jan. 8, 1952 G. TERRY MANICURING DEVICE Filed March 7, 1950 FIG; I

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LILA G. TERRY ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES smear OFF-ICE Application lt larch' 'l', 1 95 6; sei'lal l fti 1 48,19 5

This invention relates tomanicuring devices and more particularly todevices used; in manicuring the fingernails andtoenails of a human being.

In the care or manicuring of toenailsandfingernails it has relatively recently become quite customary to apply a lacquer or other} coating commonly known as polish. Such polish-commonly varies/in color and shade, ranging from transparent relatively colorless-material to deep colored translucent coatings;

Heretofore, suc-hpolish has co appliedto the'fin'gernails or toenails 'in a'liq'uid state" by means'of a brush or similar applicator. Sucha methodof applying polish is relatively slow and tedious,- and has-several inherent disadvantages; One of these disadvantages-is that the polish-mustnecessarily be applied toth nail of the digit inseveral-strokes of thebrush and for practical purposes the liquid'being-soapplied mustbe of a relatively quick drying type sothat it is difiicultto apply the polish tdthe" digitin a manner Wherebya-smooth-coa-tingiis afiorded Another 'disadvantage isthat-because" of the necessary quick-drying characteristics of tl'i'e liduid polish, it is"substantially'irnpossibl'e 'to ap'ply the polish in acontinu'o'us smooth as" strokes necessarily'overlap g e a'cliotherand affording-astratifiedfcoatin hich is e subject to peelingor' chipping? A f rt vantage is that although the liquid-polish a quick-drying type, an appreciable lerig-thof time" is requiredfor the polish to completely dry after being applied to the' nailsi gwh ieh time the person uponwhose nails thefpo lslrhas been applied must carefully keep her nails out of' contact witho'ther objectsso'as not'it'o spoil or Inar the desired lustrous finish wherifthe polish has completelydried. Yet ainbtherjdisbdirantage of applying" liquid polish inthe' aforementioned manner is that in n'lostinstall ct 3's"the! p'jdllshiis applied by" an avrage'individual"whdisno specially skille'd'in theart; and mu ging-app dfby that individual o'n"both"l'iands', this necessitating thatthe polish on the nails of the left hand be applied with a brush held in the right handgwa'nd vice versa, and the average individual isusually not skilled in the use of one hand orthe other for careful, relativelyskillfiil werkof'th'ishlture, and, as a result encounters considerabledifiiculty in so applying the polish ina d'esirableiiia'n' fier.

A further disadvantageisthat "the nails of the average human beingfare'nornially rlanvayherd and brittle so that e nailsthem 'selvs are relatively easilychipped or split' to' therebyjniar'the polished appearance thereof, and, furtheifii'oi'e,

'inonly' been objects and thereby afford flicient l v t. 4

Yeti andther' object of n'yfiriventi'dn is'toafioifd ano'vel preforrn'ed nail'plolish which my be quickly and" easily" applied" t the" nails" 01 t u digits of an individual by that individual iii a nbvelan'd'expeditiqusmariner. I a

A further object of my" inventionisto afiord'a novel preformed nan polish the afor mentioried' typwhich niay e quickly nd ejas y plied to the nails ofan individual and; if: a u, maybe re'rnovedlandlater replaced 'on'the ails of that individual.- I

ail b l he n rm a h wo wash Qii hands or, the use of: soap and Water customary m'nbrmahouse'werk; p I

lia-ni'fanifliartviththepreviously knd'wnm cui'ihg'devicesof the type wherein sin-ge up ish rnay be applied by means of a ae 'aietmwa I a also far ni liar with'previdusly kh'own'rhanicuring devices whereby dried fingernail polish be applied directlytd'thi' nalls" by'flfieans 3 other hand, such activities are replete with dimculties to say the least. Also, with respect to the manicuring articles heretofore known wherein dried fingernail polish may be applied directly to the nails by means of a water-soluble adhesive, it will be appreciated that such a film is extremely brittle and difficult to handle. In addition, it will be seen that in the case of both the decalcomania and the directly applied dried film of fingernail polish, the polish is mounted directly on the fingernail and is therefore subject to cracking or chipping if the fingernail itself is cracked or chipped, and, in addition, is not cushioned on a fingernail against impacts resulting from the fingernail striking other hard objects and is therefore subject to being relatively readily chipped-by such impacts.

It is an object of my invention to afiord a manicuring deviceof the aforementioned type wherein a film of dried fingernail polish is disposed on a suitable base member or pad on which .a pressure-sensitive waterproof adhesive is disposed for securing the pad and film of polish to a fingernail or toenail, the device being preformed into the shape of the nail to which it is to be applied, when that nail is disposed in flattened position so that when the device is applied to the nail on the hand of an individual, .the' device conforms itself substantially exactly to the, shape of the nail to which it, is so applied. Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the sameor equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 illustrates the manner in which articles of manufacture embodying the principles of my 'invention are preferably packaged for market- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through I one of the manicuring devices shown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are views showing difierent steps in the application of my device to a fingernail; and

Fig. 6 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of my device.

In the drawings, a manicuring device or article I0 is shownto illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention. The device I0 comprises, in

general, a readily flexible body member or base sheet I2 on one face of which is disposed a coating of a suitable pressure-sensitive adhesive Id, and on the other face of which is disposed a suitable coating or film of dried fingernail polishor toenail polish I6, as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

The device In has a front edge portion I8, a

7 rear edge portion I9 and two side edges 2|, 22. A

Each of the devices I0 are preferably so formed that they correspond substantially to the shape jandjsize of the respective nail on which the device is to be applied, so that after application "of the device to the nail a minimum amount of trimming will be necessary. I As will be appreciated by those skilled in assnee the art, the usual preferred shape of well-dressed fingernails is the common and popular almondshape wherein the forward portion of the fingernail projects somewhat from the end.of the finger and tapers to a rounded or modified point as is shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4.

In constructing devices of this character I have found it is desirable to, afford a device which is somewhat, but only slightly,longer than the fingernail to which the device is intended to be applied, and wherein the device is so shaped that when applied to the fingernail the rear portion of the device is disposed on the fingernail in close fitting engagement to the perionychium of the finger. The fingernail of the average individual is, of course, somewhat rounded or arched outwardly and inasmuch as the device III, as packaged for marketing, is substantially flat, I have found that it is desirable to so construct the device In that the side edges 2| and 22 and the front edge I8 taper or flare outwardly somewhat from the rear edge portion I9, in substantially a fan-shape, or shield shape, as best shown in Fig. l, to thereby as closely simulate the shape of that portion of the nail defined by the perionychium as possible when that nail is disposed in flattened position. The base sheet I2 of the manicuring device I0 may be constructed of any suitable material such as, for example, silk, cotton, or rayon cloth or fabric, or similar woven fabrics, or thin sheet rubber, paper, plastics, or the like. However, I prefer to use relatively thin sheets of suitable fabric such as, for example, cotton and, in making the device I0, each base sheet I2 is formed so as to closely resemble the size and shape which would be assumed by that portion of a nail to which the device is to be attached, if that nail were removed from the digit and flattened out. Preferably, the upper face of the base sheet I2 to which the film or coating I6 is to be applied, is glazed or relatively smooth so that the film I6, when applied thereto, presents a smooth outward finish. V Also, the base sheet I2 is preferably waterproof or water repellent and for this purpose I prefer to use sheet material such as embodied in any one of several suitable waterproof adhesive tapes which are heretofore known such as, for example, a base sheet made in accordance with the disclosure of United States Letters Pat ent No. 2,137,563, granted to Raymond E. Thomas Per cent Emulsion 9 89.3 Water 1 10.7

The material referred to above as Emulsion 9 is an emulsion comprising deacetylated chitin,

paraffin wax, glacial acetic acid, and aluminum acetatem and whose preparation is described in Example IX of United States Patent 2,047,217

' of July 14, 1936. During the impregnation of the cloth, the impregnating bath is maintained at a temperature of approximately F. (77 C.). The impregnated fabric may then be dried in a lows:

tenter frame holding the fabric to the original width.

p The fabric before treatment will absorb water in much the same way as blotting paper. After the above described treatment, it is non-wet- Matthews -'in""I*he TextileFibers," 4th.Ed.'-.(1924) Wileymage 991. This test is described as fol- Dry the pieces of fabric used in conducting the funnel test at 45 C. for 24 hours, hang in laboratory I over night and clamp loosely, in frame. Set the frame ina holder attached to a trough at an angle of 45 degrees. Allow clear tap water at room temperature to fall a height of 6 feet upon the central portion of the fabric, covering an area of about-8 inches in circumference for 24 hours, from a 2% inch brass spray nozzle having 25 holes, each 1.9 (0.75 in.) mm. in diameter, at a rate of 1000 cc. per minute.

Inspect the condition of the underside of the fabric at the end of five minutes, one-half hour, one hour, three hours, seven hours, and twentyfour hours. Note at each inspection whether the under surface is dry, damp'or wet with no dripping; damp or wet with dripping.

It will be appreciated that a water repellent fabric is not necessarily resistant to the passage of water under hydrostatic pressure.

The waterproof adhesive I4, may be of any suitable type ofpressure sensitive material, such as, for example, a normally tacky, pressure sensitive adhesive made according to the disclosure .of the aforementioned Raymond E. Thomas Patent No. 2,187,563. Thefollowing example illustrates a suitable adhesive composition which may be used in the practice of the present invention, all parts by weight: 7

. Per cent In compounding the adhesive, the rubber is mixed with the benzene in the ratio of 14.3 parts of the former to 85.7v parts of the latter until a uniform colloidal solution is produced. The rosin is dissolved in its own weight of benzene and strained. The zinc oxide is dried at 100 C. and mixed with benzene in the ratio of 73.4 parts to-26.6'parts.of benzene until a thick paste is formed. The, wool fat may be incorporated into the zinc oxide paste, which is then thoroughly mixed with the rosin and rubber solutions and the product allowed to stand a few hours before spreading.

The coating operation, wherein the adhesive I4 is applied to thebase sheet I2, may be carried out by passing the impregnated fabric through a series of three calender rolls adjusted so that not less than 1.5 gramsof the non-volatile components of the pressure sensitive mass is spread over each 100 square centimeters of the cloth.

Thisis equivalent to 4.4 ounces per square yard. The preferred fabric for making the base sheet I2 is known as Stevens cloth, and is a plain (or methods such as, for example, printing maybe satisfactorily used if desired, suchas, for

example, broadcloth and special weave fabrics such as pajama check. a

A wide variety of .pressure sensitive adhesives may be employed in the present invention. Those set out herein are merely illustrative, many such compositions being known to the workers inthe art. For further details reference is made to The Chemical Formulary," vol. 2=-Bennett, and The Pharmacopeia .of the United States eleventh decennial" revision (1936). rubber, rosin or resins, wax or oil, anda filler Such compositions usually consist of oxide,

nents of the composition. Zinc oxide, 'ifused,

preferably constitutes 20%v to of the.compo sition'onthe-isame basis. The Ivolat-ile solvent of the spreading mass may vary widely, although 40%. to is usually used.

The amount of pressure sensitive adhesive applied usually. runs between 5.5 and 7..ounces per square yard. The intermediate rangeof 6.2 .to 6.7 has been found tobe the most desirable for ordinary use.

The polish It may be of any one ofsuitablenail polishes or lacquers available on the market and is preferably applied to the base sheet, I2 by spraying, although, of course, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the polish may be applied to thebase sheet 12 by other-suitable methods andthelike. 1

In packaging the devices I 0 for marketing the same, the devices [0 are preferably mounted on a suitable backing sheet 26 which may be constructed of any suitable material such as, for "example, a thin layer of cotton, such as cri-noline, the backing-sheet 26 preferably being relatively stiff and ofa relatively wide mesh to thereby afford a member from which theadhesive l4 may be-readily detached :by relatively gently pulling on the device 40 to be removed therefrom, and

, the backing sheetmember being substantially transparent. In such p ckages, the devices iii are preferably mounted on the backing sheet 26 in sets of five, one foreach of the digits onthe foot or hand for which the devices of that particular package are intended. It will be understood, of course, that these packages will be made up in several different sets, according to various average sizes of fingernails of individuals and, .an individual purchasing the set may, by placing the backing sheet 26 over the fingernail, for example, choose the size which most closelyapproximates the size and shape of herfingernail.

-In applying the device H) to the nail for which it is intended, the individual may remove the deyice In from the backing sheet 2 6 and place it gently on the nail on whichit is to .be finally applied so as to. determine whether: the device and. 22 and the rear edge 119 are disposed inwardly of, adjacent to, and closely follow the outline of, the perio'nychium of the digit, the device l0 may then be firmly pressed onto the nail of the digit and carefully smoothed thereonto. Preferably,

when so disposed on the digit, the front :edge I8 .device Ill at the-same time.

.IOf .theideviceJlfliW-ill project outwardly somewhatlbeyond the forward edgeof the fingernail 24, as shown in Fig. 3, and, afterbeing properly applied maythen be trimmed ofito conform to the leading edge of the finger 24. If desired, the individuall may. trim both thefingernail and the In many instances, the individualdesires to. ap-

ply coatingsof polish to the nails of her digitsin a manner whereinthe polish completely covers .the nail within the outline-of the perionychium,

and. in such instances,.ithe .device .I 0. may be applied to thei naili in: the .manner illustrated in Fig. 3,2;wherein;.the outer edgeof .the .rear; end portions of the edges 2|. and 22 of the,devicei:|ll, V and :the rear: edge l9,- exactly follow, the outlines of the'rperio'nychi'umr However, in some instances,

itiis desiredto. apply. polishto .the nailsin-a manner .whereby .either the actual half-moon isexposed or a. simulated halfemoon is formed,

' and in these instances, this may be readily accomplished with my device 'by sshaping the rear edge l9 of thedevicezlfl so,as. to aiford a space for viewing .th'enreal or simulatedhalf-moon, as

shown in Figs. 4 and.5. .This may be readily; ac-

complished on. my device I by using the usual manicuring scissors to :form the half-moon, indicated at .28, Figs; .4and :5, before applying the device It] to the nail my device .Hl :being especially well adapted for so shapingthe rear edge portion thereof, because of the ready manner in which-itma'y behandled without danger of break- ;ing or otherwise spoilin the appearance thereof.

* Afterso'ishapingzithe half-moon 28 onthe device l'llgthe device lumay then be'applied to the fingernail-in the same manner as previously set forth with:respect-tothe. device shown in Fig. .3, the device in being applied to the.nai1.in .the manner-wherein the. forward edgeportion l8 thereof projects outwardly beyond the forward edge portion ofthe nail .24,'as shown in Fig. 4, and then trimmed to the edge of the nail as shown in Fig. 5. It Will be noted thatafter the manicuring device-I'll is a'pplied to the fingernail,

' it loses the fan-shape or shield-shapeiof the flattened devices shown in Fig: 1, and upon being curved over the nail in' close fitting relation thereto assumes the almond shape shown in' Figs.

3'5,-which is the popular shape for fingernails.

With polish-applied inthe aforesaid manner, itwill be'seen that the base sheet I2 affords an effective pad for the polish) to thereby cushion it againstshock-when the nails are struck against hard objects, andtherebyreduce the possibility of such impacts causin the polish to be chipped "from the nails. Also, it will be seen that a manicuringd'evice constructed in accordance with my invention is substantially waterproof and will not loosen by the-"immersion of the hands iniwater while bathing,- washing-dishes, or doing the other. a usual household-tasks.

Also, it will be seen, that the deviceJOV affords a novel and efficient means for applying fingernail polish which enables the wearer to play; the

piano, operatea typewriter,:-etc., without the usual danger to the polish inherent in .suchactivities;i Anadditional feature is thatif desired,

the manicuring device In may be removed from the fingernails and stored in a suitable place,such

as, for example, on a sheet of glass or the, like, so as to protect the adhesivel l, and may then be reapplied to the fingernails at a later date.

"In the modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 6, the device 10a shown therein is, shaped and formed in the same manner heretofore, jdiscussed with respect tothe device l0, and may be applied to a fingernail in the same manner heretofore set .forth withv .respect.,.to the device, Ill.

The. principal difference between the device Illa andthe device In is thatthe device Hlais constructed of a body member l 2a and a waterproof adhesive. Ma, the.-body..member l2a being constructed of a. suitable plastic such as, for example, cellulose v acetate impregnated with the color desired'in the finished nail. Such colors, of course, mayrange from practically colorless transparent plastic, to: afford little more than a high sheen to the fingernails to which'applied, to a dalrkred, translucent plastic simulating the present popular dark red colors of fingernail polish nowrbeing applied in-iliquid-form directly to the nails.

It'will beunderstood, .ofcourse, that cellulose acetate isset forth merely by way .of illustration and not by way of-zlimitation and that other plastic materials having the desired physical and chemical characteristics may be used, otherexamples of suitable plastics being, rubber hydrochloride sheets' known in the trade .as Pliofilm, and flexible polystyrene sheets known in the trade as Polyfiexf among others.

Thewaterproof adhesive Ma applied to the bottom face of the plastic body member I2a may be any suitable type such as, for example, the same typeof adhesive l4; previously discussed.

From the foregoing itwill' be seen that I have afforded a novel manicuring device which is water-proof in character; protects the fingernails from chippingand cracking, is quickly and easily wish'to be limitedto the precise detailsset forth,

but desire'to'availmyself of such changes and alterationsasfall'within the purview of the following claims.

Iclaimz' 1 Fl 1. An article of manufacture comprising a flexible substantially flat base sheet of woven fabric impregnated-with material I making the same water-repellent, said base sheet being pre formed intos-ubstantially the shape of a flattened nail on'a digit-offahuman-and having a smooth upper face, a tacky, Water-repe11ent, pressuresensitive adhesiveon the bottom face of the base sheetfor securing? the same to the nail, and a film of dried nail polishing material on and coveringthe 'smooth'up'per face of the base sheet, said base sheet acting as a pad to cushion. the film 7 of dried'ln'ail polishing material against shock from i mpact'ofthe nail" with hard objects and 'tliereby' preve' ting chipping of said film of dried nail poli ing material.

2. An article 'of .,manufacture comprising a transparentf fiat backing sheet of substantially open-mesh fabric, abase sheet mounted on the backing sheet, ,said, base sheet being preformed into a sizeand shape corresponding tothat of a: flattenednail of a human digit, a pressuresensitive adhesivematerial on one face of the 9 base sheet releasably securing the base sheet to the backing sheet; ';said:-backing sheet being sufficiently larger than the base sheet so that the backing sheet feiitehd's' a substantial distance beyond the marginal ledge of the base sheet whereby the transiia ent backing sheet may be grasped and positioned over the finger nail of an individual for jr'iparlson of the size of said base sheet therewith rior to removal of the base Sheet from the backin 7 sheet.

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS 

